U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 10/429,930 and 10/429,932 are generally directed towards the concept of computer systems having auxiliary processing and auxiliary mechanisms, particularly display-related mechanisms, which provide some auxiliary computing functionality. For example, a small LCD on the lid or side of a laptop computer can provide its owner with useful information, such as a meeting location and time, even when the main computer display is not easily visible, such as when a laptop computer's lid is closed and/or the main computer is powered down.
However, the usage of such auxiliary displays has heretofore been limited to narrow, limited operations in which a dedicated auxiliary display program is customized for the type of display and with respect to the information that is displayed. In such systems, the auxiliary display program is coded to the specifics of the type of display, such as the size and resolution, so that the program can output something that is readable yet fits within the screen area. This is unlike the regular computer system display, in which contemporary operating system components abstract from higher level programs the complexity and details of whatever specific video graphics adapter is installed. At the same time, dedicated auxiliary display code was a sensible solution, given that auxiliary displays typically have been two-or-three line text displays built into the hardware when manufactured, and all that was needed was to have the dedicated application write simple text with information such as a meeting time and the current time to the display.
One problem with the dedicated solution is that what is desirable to display in one context might not be desirable in others. For example, although notification of an upcoming meeting is desirable, once in the meeting, it would typically not be desirable to have other attendees be able to view other information that might appear on the auxiliary display. A simple on/off switch is not sufficient for many scenarios, such as when the display of some information, but not other (e.g., personal) information, is what a user really wants.
What is needed is a way for application programs that run under the main operating system of a computer system to automatically present on an auxiliary device only the data that is desirable for displaying given the current context.